DIY Upcycled Bottle Cap Ladybug Plant Charm Tutorial

April 14, 2023January 12, 2024 by Cindy @ Upcycle Design Lab

I don’t know about you, but I definitely have spring fever. Here in Colorado, it is not quite planting season yet, and the weather is still back and forth between warm and cold temperatures. But warmer weather is coming, and even with my brown thumb, I am eagerly awaiting the chance to get a little dirt under my fingernails.

Until then, I will settle for making my little insect plant charms. If you missed my previous aluminum can creatures, you can check out the Dragonfly project or the Ant project, both made from upcycled aluminum cans.

Today, I am adding these bottle cap ladybugs to the collection.

Below is an overview of each step. You can check out the video above for the complete tutorial.

Step 1 – Making the Head

The head of the ladybug is made from an aluminum can. The first step is to remove the top and bottom of the can and flatten the remaining piece into a sheet.

If you want more information on flattening aluminum cans or how I break down aluminum cans for crafting, you can scroll to the bottom of this post for more video tutorials.

These beads are easy to cut by hand, but you can also use your Cricut cutting machine if you like.

The bead templates can be found at the bottom of this post in pdf and svg formats.

The bead has three sections and needs to be pieced together. Once the pieces were cut, I used metal tape to attach them together.

And then, I rolled the aluminum with a bead roller and secured the bead with metal tape.

Step 2 – Shaping the Body

To make the shape for the body, you will need two metal bottle caps, some needle nose pliers, and a dapping and doming block. To shape the first bottle cap, I used the largest dimple in the doming block to hammer the cap into a domed shape.

For the second bottle cap, I used the needle nose pliers to bend the sides inward and flatten the bottle cap.

Here are what the three main parts should look like. One domed bottle cap, one flattened bottle cap, and one bead rolled from the aluminum can.

Note the flattened bottle cap should fit inside the domed bottle cap.

Step 3 – Adding and Sealing Color

You can paint your pieces with acrylic paint, but I prefer alcohol ink to add color. I used a coat of silver spray paint to prepare the bottle caps and added black alcohol ink to the rolled bead and red alcohol ink to the bottle cap pieces. Finally, I used a DecoArt DuraClear gloss varnish to seal the ink.

Step 4 – Assembly

Once the gloss varnish was dry, I used two pieces of 20 gauge wire cut to five inches long to assemble the head. I rolled a loose coil in each piece of wire using a pair of round-tipped jewelry pliers. Next, I added a small round black bead (5mm) to each wire and threaded the wires in opposite directions through the rolled black bead.

The coiled end of each wire is bent to make the antenna, and the other is bent under the bead and twisted several times to secure the wire and make the neck. I am taking some creative license here as I don’t think ladybugs have necks. 😊

Here is what the piece should look like. Sorry if this part is a little unclear. It is easier to follow in the video tutorial above.

To make the legs, I cut two more pieces of wire at four inches and wrapped the wires just below the twists in the “neck.”

Step 5 – Finishing

To finish the assembly, I used E6000 glue and hot glue to secure the wire pieces between the two bottle caps.

Once the hot glue was cooled, I used the round-tipped pliers to roll a tight coil in each wire to form the feet. (Ladybugs probably don’t have feet either, but what do I know? I am not an entomologist.)

Then I bent the wire to shape the legs, neck, and antenna.

I used a small amount of E6000 glue the secure the eyes.

And added the finishing touches with a black permanent marker.

I thought she turned out really cute, so I made a few more. I also learned the fun fact that ladybugs actually come in a lot of different colors, including blue. So there is your science lesson for the day.

Now I just have to figure out how to keep a plant or two alive so my little ladybugs will have a place to live. 🤣🤣

Check out these additional resources.

Three ways to flatten beer and soda cans.

How I break down aluminum cans into four usable parts for crafting

How to cut aluminum cans with a Cricut cutting machine.

Happy Upcycling,

Cindy

Tools and materials used in this project.

Advertising Disclosure: Upcycle Design Lab may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services or your clicking on links posted on this website.